Decisions loom for primaries

Elections officials hope judge makes new plan known soon

PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published July 1

OLYMPIA -- With state legislators failing to agree on a replacement for the state's blanket primary, the shape of this September's primary election rests on the shoulders of a federal district court judge in Tacoma.

As the cast of characters in the primary debate waits for Judge Frank Burgess to rule, county auditors around the state are nervously eyeing the calendar as Sept. 4 nears and deadlines for ballot preparation loom even closer.

"We don't know what the judge is going to do," Mason County Auditor Al Brotche said Friday. "Right now, it's all guesses and what-ifs."

The Secretary of State's Office, which works closely with county auditors in administering elections, had requested that Burgess rule by Monday.

While a ruling could come at any time, Secretary of State Sam Reed said that by the end of last week, Burgess had made no indication to lawyers in the case that a decision was imminent.

"We thought we'd hear something this week, but we haven't," Reed said Friday.

Anticipation for the ruling is high because Bur-gess could go in any number of directions, each with a unique set of challenges for county auditors who could literally have just days to craft a ballot for a primary that could be unlike any in Washington's history.

In hands of the court

The fate of the primary rests with the court because of a lawsuit filed by the state's major political parties in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer declaring a blanket primary -- such as Washington's -- unconstitutional.

Democratic and Republican

can party leadership oppose the blanket primary, instead seeking a system that would give them tighter control over which candidates will head to the general election ballot bearing their party labels.

What might happen

The recently ended legislative session saw numerous attempts by lawmakers to craft a replacement, but no final accord. With no direction from the Legislature, Burgess could:

-Adopt the option favored by Reed and the state's legal team, which is the so-called "two-forward" system that's based on the Louisiana primary.

Under this plan, the top two vote-getters in the primary election would automatically advance to the general election -- regardless of party affiliation.

Reed said this kind of primary would be a simple transition for county auditors, as the primary ballot would essentially be unchanged from the blanket primary ballot.

-Create the kind of primary sought by the Republicans and Democrats, a system that would restrict crossover voting by making voters choose a ballot from only one political party.

-Simply declare the blanket primary unconstitutional but not order any kind of replacement, leaving that decision to the Legislature, either in a special session or in the 2002 legislative session.

If the Legislature were to not act this year, Sept. 4 would likely pass without a primary election, with every candidate advancing to a free-for-all general election.

State lawyers consider it unlikely that Burgess will create a new primary system from the bench, making the third scenario perhaps the most likely, Reed said.

"Judges do tend to be sensitive to not screwing up the election process," Reed said. "I think after Florida, that consciousness is even higher than ever."

No primary?

If there isn't a primary this fall, that creates a whole new set of issues for the dozen or so county auditors who are set to oversee partisan elections in the fall.

For some, it might not be overly problematic -- for instance, in Thurston County there is so far only one declared candidate for the auditor position -- Republican Kim Wyman.

If no Republicans step forward to challenge Wyman, and if only one Democrat enters the race, then the lack of a primary would hardly be noticeable.

But that's not the case everywhere.

In Snohomish County, for instance, the race to fill a vacant House seat has already attracted two Democratic candidates.

The race already promises to be high profile because -- if Democrats win -- it would sweep them into control of the House and break the paralyzing 49-49 tie.

"There are a lot of potential quirks that would have to be resolved," Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger said. "We're hesitant to go too far down any one road until we hear from the judge."

A similar situation exists in King County, where two Republicans are vying for a County Council seat recently vacated by state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance.

Republicans need to keep the seat if they are to retain a majority on the council.

So everyone waits, and everyone hopes that direction comes in time for state and county election officials to head off what could be the messiest election season in Washington history.

Terwilliger, for one, said he's not overly concerned about the prospect of a train wreck.

"We'll conduct an election that will be done professionally," Terwilliger said.

"There could be some rough spots, but we're not going to just throw our hands up and walk away."

Patrick Condon covers the Legislature for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or at condonpatrick@hotmail.com.

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